Leadership & Board

Michael D. Shmerling
Founder and Board Chair

mshmerling@abesgarden.org

A native of Nashville, he began his career in 1977 as a Certified Public Accountant with the Nashville office of Ernst & Young, formerly Ernst & Ernst CPAs. Mike has founded or co-founded multiple businesses since leaving public accounting, four of which were ultimately sold to publicly traded NYSE or NASDAQ companies. Following the sale of Background America, Inc. to Kroll Inc in 1998, he joined Kroll – eventually serving as a member of the Board, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He was subsequently a Senior Advisor to Marsh Inc., following the sale of Kroll to Marsh. He currently serves as Chairman of private equity firm Clearbrook Holdings Corp, formerly known as XMi Holdings.

Mike received numerous Nashville Business Journal Future 50 and Inc. 5000 awards for companies in which he was involved. In addition to this recognition, he received the Tennessee Society of CPAs’ Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry Award in 1999. In 2007, he was awarded both the Tennessee Society of CPAs’ and the American Institute of CPAs’ Public Service Award. In 2009, he received CommunityNashville’s Human Relations Award.

In addition to his role as Founder and Board Chair of Abe’s Garden Community, he also serves on two public company boards – Renasant Bank and HealthStream.

Chris Coelho, MMHC
Chief Operating Officer

ccoelho@abesgarden.org

Chris oversees the day-to-day operations, spearheads our continuous quality improvement initiatives and evaluates research opportunities for the organization. He joined the team in 2015 and served as Interim Executive Director for 15 months prior to being appointed COO.

As part of the administrator’s licensure process, Chris worked in all areas of a senior living community. He holds a master’s degree in Management of Healthcare from Vanderbilt University. His experience includes conducting research and quality improvement projects in long-term care communities and hospitals, while also developing quality improvement systems in assisted living. He has co-authored five peer-reviewed papers on topics ranging from management of quality improvement in assisted living communities to monitoring pain and geriatric syndromes for discharged hospital patients.

Chris Bowater
Executive Chef

cbowater@abesgarden.org

Chris joined the Abe’s Garden Community team as the Sous Chef in November 2019. Since then, his role has grown into managing our Culinary Services team as Executive Chef. Chris began working in the restaurant industry at the age of 15 as a dishwasher and busboy, then served as the Kitchen Manager of Pie in the Sky Pizza for two years. He continued to hone his skills at the upscale Germantown restaurant, City Silo, where he served as Sous Chef for two years before becoming City Silo’s Executive Chef. He is a certified ServSafe® Manager and focuses on cooking from scratch using fresh, local ingredients.

Donna W. Coleman, MS, CFRE
Senior Director of Marketing and Development

dcoleman@abesgarden.org

Donna Coleman has been a charitable gift planner since 1993. Prior to joining Abe’s Garden Community, she worked at Otterbein Senior Lifestyle Choices for 23 years, where she served for six years as the Vice President of Charitable Gift Planning. In that role, she led a team of six fundraisers across 14 locations, consistently raising more than $2 million each year. Donna’s focus (and passion) is on building relationships with those who are interested in deepening their connection to the Abe’s Garden Community mission through philanthropic support.

Angela Farmer, SHRM-CP
Senior Director of Human Resources

afarmer@abesgarden.org

Angela brings over 20 years of HR experience to Abe’s Garden Community, including 17 years in the healthcare industry. During those years, she worked in the areas of radiology management, hospice and specialty pharmacy. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a Certified Professional designation from the Society for Human Resource Management. Her career has spanned all aspects of HR, including leadership development, performance management and employee relations.

Donna Finto-Burks, MSN, RN
Senior Director of Clinical Care

dfinto-burks@abesgarden.org

Prior to joining Abe’s Garden Community, Donna was director of nursing at The Meadows, where she supervised assisted living and skilled nursing operations. She achieved the title of Nurse Practitioner upon earning a Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University.

Judy Shmerling Given, LCPC
Senior Director of Campus Development

jgiven@abesgarden.org

Daughter of Abe Shmerling, after whom Abe’s Garden Community is named, Judy worked with her brother Michael to create Abe’s Garden in memory of their father. Judy helps families determine which programs and services at Abe’s Garden Community best meet their needs and lend support through the transition process. She also identifies the unmet needs of families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease to develop new programs.

Judy brings her experience as a clinical professional counselor and business owner, as well as more than 22 years working as a clinician, expressive arts therapist, and administrator in special education and private practice.

Samantha Hamilton
Business Office Manager

shamilton@abesgarden.org

Samantha Hamilton was first introduced to Abe’s Garden Community (then called Park Manor) in 2001 when she was a private caregiver for an independent living resident. Since she joined our team full time, she’s served in various roles across nearly every department, including in-home care, assisted living, housekeeping and concierge services. As Business Office Manager, her many responsibilities include handling accounting, managing transportation services, hair salon services and our front desk staff.

Bob Himes
Senior Director of Finance

bhimes@abesgarden.org

Bob oversees Abe’s Garden Community’s accounting and financial reporting. He has over 30 years of financial management experience, including serving as XMI’s Controller for almost 15 years. His previous roles include Certified Public Accountant and Controller for numerous other private industry companies. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Louisiana State University.

Jacob Pursell
Senior Director of Facility Management

jpursell@abesgarden.org

Jacob joined the Abe’s Garden Community team in 2008, when he was hired as a maintenance technician. His role expanded to Director of Maintenance in 2018 and to Senior Director of Facility Management in 2020. He is responsible for facility management of the entire campus. His Journeyman Electrician and HVAC Technician certifications and repair skills are valuable as he ensures Abe’s Garden Community performs safely and at optimum functionality.

Beverly Theis, LCSW
Senior Director of Resident and Family Support

btheis@abesgarden.org

Beverly has a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland, with a specialization in aging. Her career has involved working with older adults in healthcare, mental health, skilled nursing and community settings. Prior to Abe’s Garden Community, she worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in cardiology and thoracic care.

Susannah Dwyer BSCHons/RPT/L
Chief Executive Officer

sdwyer@abesgarden.org

Susannah brings to the organization more than 25 years of leadership experience in senior living, home health, outpatient rehabilitation, and private duty home care. As a catalyst and change agent, she is known for driving long-term results and relationships. The highly accomplished industry leader who grew up in the North of England is credited with growing and leading one of the most successful home health sales teams in the United States. Susannah’s executive-level experience provides insight and perspective to lead the high-performing team at Abe’s Garden Community.

Susannah received a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy from Salford University, England, and has a certification from Vanderbilt School of Business’s Managing with Strategic Intent Program.